Marie Watt’s work addresses the interaction of the arc of history with the intimacy of memory through her use of common materials that are conceptually attached to a narrative. In Engine (2009), the structure resembles an igloo made of wood and felt. After winding one’s way inside, the viewer experiences the effects of the felt; the interior is dark and the silence palpable. Watt drew upon the powerful narrative tradition of Native American storytelling, using projections of storytellers Elaine Grinnell of the Jamestown S’Klallam and Lummi Tribes, Roger Fernandes of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and Johnny Moses of the Tulalip Tribe. Their warm and soothing voices emanate from small, apparitional projected images within a cave-like structure. Silhouettes of hands—felted with brilliantly dyed wool—mark the stalactites, stalagmites, and undulating walls. Consciously emulating the earliest known human mark-making found in cave art, the handprints simply announce “Me—I am here,” in the context of stories that tell of the collective experience of native peoples through tales of creation and the power of nature.
Watt’s use of felt, created in partnership with FWM, is appropriate. Felt is the oldest and simplest cloth in the world. Felt is not woven; wet animal hairs are agitated into matting. It is an ancient and universal fabric. Engine has deep roots in the artist’s native tradition but touches on the wider traditions of the elemental human need for protection and identity. We are all, ultimately, natives of this world.
